Single surfaced adhesive tape, such as masking tape, is a well-known article of commerce. Such tape is widely used as a mask for painting. For example, when a window frame is to be painted, masking tape may be applied to the window pane immediately adjacent the frame, to prevent paint from inadvertently being applied to the pane.
For some painting operations, such as spray painting, it is frequently necessary to protect or mask an area that is wider than the width of conventional masking tape. When such a requirement exists, it is common to position a sheet of paper, cardboard or the like over the area to be protected, and to position strips of masking tape about the edges of the sheet, such that the masking tape borders the areas to be painted and secures the sheet. Proper positioning of the sheet and masking tape strips can be a comparatively time-consuming process, particularly if the area to be protected is large. It has therefore occasionally been proposed to employ double surfaced adhesive tape to facilitate such operations. Double surfaced adhesive tape is tape that includes adhesive on two sides. When double surfaced adhesive tape is used, the tape is first applied adjacent the areas to be painted using one, inward facing adhesive surface, and a sheet is then placed over and adhered to the outward facing adhesive surface of the tape. However, double surfaced adhesive tape has not achieved widespread use, principally because it generally cannot be formed into a roll without the use of a release liner between adjacent tape layers.